By: Lillian Wooton/Staff Writer
The New Palestine girl’s gymnastics team has grown exponentially over the past 4 years. Going from HOW MANY students in the 2022 school year to this year HOW MANY, the team is flourishing in size and success. According to the team, the growth can be attributed to three factors; team atmosphere, recent success, and excellent coaching. Junior Lexie Hall explained how the coaching impacts the program.
“This program pushes you to be your best, but they don’t pressure you until you break down. They’ll push you very hard because they know you can do it, but they won’t make you
something that’s unsafe,” Hall said. In a sport that is very injury prone, coaching that balances safety with success is vital. Junior Alyssa Mitchell added,
“(The Coach) is very understanding. If you ever need to be out because you’re sick or on vacation, she’s willing to work with you. She just never gets mad at you, she’s really kind. It’s so important to have a coach that supports you and doesn’t get mad at you for little things,” Mitchell said. Because gymnastics is such a high pressure, high stress sport, it’s a necessity that the team is supportive and forgiving.
“Everyone is welcoming, and it’s a goofy sport. If you mess up, we all understand…It’s just super fun and no one is judgmental,” Mitchell said. The team keeps a very intense sport light and they have fun with it.
“We’re all really good friends, we hang out a lot. We’re all supportive of each other,” Hall said. The team unity and coaching support have led to success for the team in recent years, including Hall winning sectionals and multiple individuals going to state.
“The past few years we’ve made New Pal gymnastics more known, because we went to state, I (Hall) won sectionals. We’re making it more known, and it’s a growing sport,” Hall said. There’s a certain glow of support and success around the New Palestine gymnastics community, and hopes are high going into the 25-26 season.
“It’s so easy to fall in love with gymnastics,” Mitchell said.
